Ask HN: Has anyone gotten complete, permanent relief from tinnitus? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone gotten complete, permanent relief from tinnitus?

#241

Post by DelaneyM » Thu, Oct 12, 2023, 2:13 PM UTC

I woke up one day about twenty years ago with terrible tinnitus, to the point I could barely function. I’d never been to a concert or worked with heavy machinery and didn’t wear headphones (I have tiny ear canals and can’t fit earbuds).

I went to the hospital that day, then saw two different specialists, and the only prescription I received was for Ambien so I could at least get a night’s sleep. Even on day three I could barely drive it was so distracting.

I woke up on day four and it was totally gone. Like it’d just been a terrible dream. I still went to the audiologist the next day to follow up, he said that sometimes that just happens, and posited that it might have been neurological. He did suggest more tests, but I never followed up.

I doubt this is helpful to your case, but it’s an example proof of _something_.

My pet theory is that it was related to my migraines - I have very significant visual auras with migraines, which can last up to a day. Maybe this was an auditory equivalent which lasted much longer? (I like this theory more than worrying about a brain tumour, so please don’t tell me it’s impossible.)

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone gotten complete, permanent relief from tinnitus?

#242

Post by 10ego » Thu, Oct 12, 2023, 2:14 PM UTC

Should be an automatic disclaimer for these but my experience my not be the same as others. My tinnitus still happens, typically triggered the next day after being exposed to a very loud setting, like going to a concert for example. One day in judo class, I had an instructor come in who finished the session with some yoga (it was atypical but I actually liked it, stretching out my joints and muscles after being so tense). I felt a pop, not like cracking a bone but something lighter feeling. No more tinnitus. It still comes and goes with the triggers but they're less intense and usually goes away after a good walk and a light stretch.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone gotten complete, permanent relief from tinnitus?

#243

Post by autogrue » Thu, Oct 12, 2023, 2:15 PM UTC

Dammit. I was good until I read this post.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone gotten complete, permanent relief from tinnitus?

#244

Post by LVB » Thu, Oct 12, 2023, 2:16 PM UTC

Loranubi wrote: post #31

My tinnitus was caused by flying long distance while having a ear infection. The first year was horrible, but after that it got a better every year and about 5 years later it's basically gone. I can only hear it now when I am in a very quiet environment or (this is the simplest way to revive it) bite down hard on my teeth. I think my brain has adjusted to the sound by masking it. Most doctor visits were quite disappo…

I’m glad to hear of your eventual improvement to a sudden onset case. I’m about 2 months into some likely barotrauma following a random swimming incident. (Innocent stuff… just diving into a deep pool at a rec center, I felt pressure as I went pretty deep, and thereafter my right ear has been stuck very ringy.) I’m still in the queue to see an ENT due to their 3 month backlog, but an audiologist confirmed some severe (near total) hearing loss in my right ear above 6khz.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone gotten complete, permanent relief from tinnitus?

#245

Post by Workaccount2 » Thu, Oct 12, 2023, 2:21 PM UTC

starstripe wrote: post #230

jtwoodhouse wrote: post #208

I had horrible tinnitus for three months. I couldn't hear anything out of my right ear. Foolishly, I went to see Inception with it. That was so disorienting. My audiologist said I was SOL and there was nothing to do about it. A few months later, I went to see a nurse practitioner about something unrelated. The ear came up and she wrote me a Rx for a steroid just to try it and see what happens. Two weeks later, I went…

What was the steroid? What caused your tinnitus or did it appear for no apparent reason?

Probably Prednisone, its the go-to anti-inflammatory steroid that doctors prescribe for just general inflammation treatment. The list of things it treats is almost comically long.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone gotten complete, permanent relief from tinnitus?

#246

Post by starstripe » Thu, Oct 12, 2023, 2:22 PM UTC

kiririn wrote: post #206

Try regularly sleeping with earplugs in a silent room. Bringing the noise floor down to a ridiculously low level retrains the brain in my experience

Did this eliminate your tinnitus or reduce its volume?

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone gotten complete, permanent relief from tinnitus?

#247

Post by westcort » Thu, Oct 12, 2023, 2:24 PM UTC

Reading these comments has made me feel very lucky not to have tinnitus. However, as a pharmacist, I have consulted with many people asking about supplements and treatments for tinnitus. One treatment that has worked for some people is lipoflavanoid. A less expensive alternative, available as by prescription only, is gabapentin.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone gotten complete, permanent relief from tinnitus?

#248

Post by wahnfrieden » Thu, Oct 12, 2023, 2:24 PM UTC

I got mine from a concert about 20 years ago. No it's the exact same as the beginning basically. I just cope better and don't think about it much and still find value in quiet spaces.

I was given steroids for recovery within a couple days of the event but I don't recall it actually improving the tinnitus. It definitely was louder in the first day after the event but that's usual for concerts, before it settled on a volume/tone. Now I'm just extremely careful and have good earplugs etc.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone gotten complete, permanent relief from tinnitus?

#249

Post by patorjk » Thu, Oct 12, 2023, 2:25 PM UTC

infecto wrote: post #156

The only resource on the internet to read/discuss it. http://tinnitustalk.com Everything else is full of people saying they are going to go crazy. My opinion is to approach it that it cannot be cured and is a part of life. I got it around 2016, unknown reasons why, at the time my hearing tested normal for my age. Have seen doctors over the years and while I know its potentially a symptom of something else, I don't kn…

I second this resource. Lots of good threads and discussion here. The forums are full of threads where people talk about things they've tried.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone gotten complete, permanent relief from tinnitus?

#250

Post by wahnfrieden » Thu, Oct 12, 2023, 2:29 PM UTC

lxgr wrote: post #209

mettamage wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The way I experience it is as follows. Normally: - Tinnitus: 100% With ANC: - Tinnitus: 50% - Bose ANC: 50% I like the ANC sound more than my tinnitus. I haven't noticed my tinnitus becoming worse or less worse.

Oh, by “the ANC sound”, do you mean the white noise floor of the ANC? In that case, have you tried something like the Bose Sleepbuds? Same idea, much more comfortable to sleep with.

Bose recently retired their 2nd attempt. The team behind those have a new one coming out in January, https://ozlosleep.com I'm pretty interested... hard to tell how long the pre-sale discount lasts